Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein, the dictator who ruled Iraq until his regime was overthrown in the U.S.-led 2003 invasion, was executed in Baghdad by hanging on December 30, 2006. Saddam had been found guilty for the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims in 1982 and an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to death on November 5, 2006. [1]

Prior to his invasion of Kuwait, however, Hussein had a long history of often-friendly ties to the United States. He was reported captured by U.S. forces on December 14, 2003.

"While many have thought that Saddam first became involved with U.S. intelligence agencies at the start of the September 1980 Iran-Iraq war, his first contacts with U.S. officials date back to 1959, when he was part of a CIA-authorized six-man squad tasked with assassinating then Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim," reported Richard Sale of United Press International. "U.S. intelligence services ... used him as their instrument for more than 40 years." [2]

For more on the U.S.-Saddam Hussein relationship, see "Missing U.S. Iraq History" by Robert Parry, a reprint of his February 23, 2003, article published before the invasion of Iraq began. Says Parry, "Before George W. Bush gives the final order to invade Iraq--a nation that has not threatened the United States--the American people might want a few facts about the real history of U.S.-Iraq relations. Missing chapters from 1980 to the present would be crucial in judging Bush's case for war."

Contents

Executed

Saddam Hussein was hung at dawn December 30, 2006, for crimes against humanity, which was "a dramatic, violent end for a leader who ruled Iraq by fear for three decades before he was toppled by a U.S. invasion four years ago," Mariam Karouny reported for Reuters.

Reaction: Executed during Eid

Eid Al Adha is when "millions of Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca." [3]

"It's official," River of Baghdad Burning blog commented December 31, 2006. Nouri al-Maliki "and his people are psychopaths. This really is a new low. It's outrageous—an execution during Eid. Muslims all over the world (with the exception of Iran) are outraged. Eid is a time of peace, of putting aside quarrels and anger—at least for the duration of Eid.

"This does not bode well for the coming year. No one imagined the madmen would actually do it during a religious holiday. It is religiously unacceptable and before, it was constitutionally illegal." [4]

2003

Robert Parry, "Missing U.S.-Iraq History,ConsortiumNews, February 27, 2003: "Before George W. Bush gives the final order to invade Iraq -- a nation that has not threatened the United States -- the American people might want a few facts about the real history of U.S.-Iraq relations. Missing chapters from 1980 to the present would be crucial in judging Bush's case for war."

Jim Lobe, "Rumsfeld and his 'old friend' Saddam,"Asia Times, December 17, 2003: "How much more of this intimate relationship Saddam will recall when he gets a public forum is undoubtedly a concern of many current and past administration figures."

Dana Priest, "Rumsfeld was told to placate Saddam,"Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), December 20, 2003: "Donald Rumsfeld went to Baghdad in March 1984 with instructions to deliver a private message about weapons of mass destruction: that the United States' public criticism of Iraq for using chemical weapons would not derail Washington's attempts to forge a better relationship, according to newly declassified documents."

Dale Steinreich, "A Pox on Fox: Latest Lies From Fox News,"Antiwar.com, December 29, 2003: "While the capture of Saddam Hussein has so far meant little in terms of stemming the violence in Iraq, it has certainly emboldened the Fox News Channel (FNC) to curiously trumpet the capture as ex post validation of the coalition's invasion. Since Sunday December 14, FNC has been almost one continuous Saddamathon with the now-famous footage of the latex-gloved frisker searching Saddam triumphantly showing on the channel almost every hour on the hour."

1993

Russ W. Baker, "IRAQGATE. The Big One That (Almost) Got Away. Who Chased it -- and Who Didn't," Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 1993: "ABC News Nightline opened last June 9 with words to make the heart stop. 'It is becoming increasingly clear,' said a grave Ted Koppel, 'that George Bush, operating largely behind the scenes throughout the 1980s, initiated and supported much of the financing, intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the aggressive power that the United States ultimately had to destroy.'"